I'm sure it's been done to death, but...

I saw a picture of "pounds lost" jars online. The girl put colored rocks into two jars. One was marked "pounds to lose" and the other was "pounds lost." For every pound she lost, she took a rock from the pounds to lose jar and put it into the pounds lost jar. Ha, it reminded me of the...thingies from Harry Potter--you know, the points counter things? :D

Anyway, I think those clear glass rocks are tacky as all-get-out. I wanted to use the idea, but...not with those ugly things. I considered using candy, just as a sort of symbolic thing, but...I don't want candy hanging around in my room for as long as it will take to lose the weight I need to lose.

My awesome spin on this idea: I bought two large beer mugs and some poker chips. I assigned monetary value to each color of chip and that's how much money I get to spend on me when I reach my goal weight. I set it up so that it goes from $1 to $25 per chip, depending on which color (I have to start with the $1 colors and work my way up) I use. And for every setback, I have to give money to a charity or a cause that I don't support.

For example, let's say that I've lost 33 pounds. That's twenty 1-dollar chips and 13 5-dollar chips. Something catastrophic happens and I gain 10 pounds. I then owe...say, some random Baptist church $50. The money that I have to give starts at the higest value of chip that's in my other mug.

It resembles one technique used by smokers when giving up. You simply pop the money you spend on a pack of ciggies in a jar each day or the price of a carton etc. This could be adapted readily for those who have found that giving up the high cal goodies they us daily/weekly helps with their weight loss... transfer money you would have spent on that to a jar. Reward with the savings when you reach mini or major goals. It's the visual aspect that helps keep you focused. Seeing what you spent (and don't now) is a reminder to keep on track.

I too read this idea and thought it was fab! But I needed to adapt it to my own personality. So I went to the London bead shop in Covent Garden and chose beads to make a necklace! Each bead represents 1lb. So when I've reached my target weightloss I'll be able to wear my achievement with pride! It'll also be a constant visual reminder of how far I've come, and to never slip back. Well, a girl needs pretty jewellery, right?! Xx

I think it would be a great reward system for exercise also. A chip is earned for so many minutes of exercise. If you do not exercise, you remove chips. Reward could be earned at the end of the month or 2 months. Great method for rewarding weight loss though!

I too read this idea and thought it was fab! But I needed to adapt it to my own personality. So I went to the London bead shop in Covent Garden and chose beads to make a necklace! Each bead represents 1lb. So when I've reached my target weightloss I'll be able to wear my achievement with pride! It'll also be a constant visual reminder of how far I've come, and to never slip back. Well, a girl needs pretty jewellery, right?! Xx